B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

We read there
וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה זְבָדַנִי אֱלֹהִים אֹתִי זֵבֶד טוֹב הַפַּעַם יִזְבְּלֵנִי אִישִׁי כִּי יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שִׁשָּׁה בָנִים וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ זְבֻלוּן
I repeat here my inkling that the patriarchs' era names are possibly all goat names, conceived and verbalized by the herder observing the social behavior of the frisky individual in a close herd.
If זְבֻלוּן is indeed from the root זבל, related to
דבל, זבל, טבל, יבל, סבל, שבל, תבל
then it possibly designates an ample bodied goat, as also in Ps. 144:14
אַלּוּפֵינוּ מְסֻבָּלִים
"our oxen are bulky"
post-biblical סרבל, is 'large, bulky, clumsy, ponderous.'
Notice also the paralleling here of זבד - זבל equating על and עד.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

In my dictionary, one of the notes says that the switch between D and L is also known in the Indo-European languages and it gives the example of the word Tear in Latin "lacrima" and in Greek " δάκρυα" (it gives other form but I think it is the same word)

Just a note:
Another nice way to see it is, since Zebulun was born with Dina, you can see the words of the Lea using the word זבד as referring to them both
זב - זבולון
ד --- דינה

ducky writes

Another nice way to see it is, since Zebulun was born with Dina, you can see the words of the Lea using the word זבד as referring to them both
זב - זבולון
ד --- דינה

Thanks. Interesting!

Isaac Fried, Boston University

As for דן DAN, it is possibly a shortened אדן or even אדוֹן, and דינה Dinah made for a girl.
The ד D in דן seems to be the ד D, עד (as in עוֹז, עוֹד, עדד, דוֹד, דד, דוּד), of עָתוּד as in Gen. 31:10
הָעַתֻּדִים הָעֹלִים עַל הַצֹּאן
KJV: "the rams which leaped upon the cattle"
NIV: "the male goats mating with the flock"
I have already suggested here before that the Greek goddess Athena is also non other but our own עדינה-דינה-אדינה, with אדוֹן further related to the husky beast אָתוֹן, then to תן, שה, עֵז, עֵד, אֵש, אֵד
דניאל = אדן-היא-אל is a later composition.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

The letter ד, for עד, is also found in the name גד, together with the letter ג for גאה, 'rise, grow, become taller'; Gen. 30:11:
וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה בגד (בָּא גָד) וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ גָּד
KJV: "And Leah said, A troop ("גדוּד") cometh: and she called his name Gad"
NIV: "Then Leah said, What good fortune! So she named him Gad"
From the root גד = גאה-דאה we have also the גדי = גד-היא, 'lamb, capricorn, kid', of Isaiah 11:6-7
וְגָר זְאֵב עִם כֶּבֶשׂ וְנָמֵר עִם גְּדִי יִרְבָּץ וְעֵגֶל וּכְפִיר וּמְרִיא יַחְדָּו וְנַעַר קָטֹן נֹהֵג בָּם וּפָרָה וָדֹב תִּרְעֶינָה יַחְדָּו יִרְבְּצוּ יַלְדֵיהֶן וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן
KJV: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox."

Isaac Fried, Boston University

Interestingly, corresponding to the later name דניאל =אדן-היא-אל
we find the name גַּדִּיאֵל = גד-היא-אל in Nu. 13:10-12
לְמַטֵּה זְבוּלֻן גַּדִּיאֵל בֶּן סוֹדִי לְמַטֵּה יוֹסֵף לְמַטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה גַּדִּי, בֶּן סוּסִי לְמַטֵּה דָן עַמִּיאֵל בֶּן גְּמַלִּי
and we notice the occurrence in the names of גד, גמל, סוּס

Isaac Fried, Boston University

From דן-אדן-אדוֹן are also the names
אֲדֹנִיָּה = אדוֹן-היא-יה of 1Kings 1:5, and
אֲדֹנִירָם = אדוֹן-היא-רם of 1Kings 5:28.
We also find
אֲבִירָם = אב-היא-רם in Nu.16:1, and
אֲחִיָּה = אח-היא-יה in 1Kings 11:29, and
אֲחִירָם = אח-היא-רם in Nu. 26:38.

Isaac Fried, Boston University